DETROIT ""  Eranda Nikolla, assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science at Wayne State University, is one of 13 scholars from across the country to receive a 2016 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.

Nikolla received the award, which provides an unrestricted research grant of $75,000, for her research project, "Oxidative Coupling of Methane using Layered, Nickelate Oxide Catalysts." The award supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. Criteria for selection include an independent body of scholarship attained in the early years of a candidate's appointment and a demonstrated commitment to education, signaling the promise of continuing outstanding contributions to both research and teaching.

"Dr. Nikolla is one of just a handful of young scientists in the nation to be awarded the prestigious Camille Dreyfus award this year," said Guangzhao Mao, chair of the Wayne State University Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. "This is an outstanding recognition at this early stage of her career, and we are extremely proud of her; she is in good company with other awardees from some of the nation's top universities."

Established in 1946 by chemist, inventor and businessman Camille Dreyfus as a memorial to his brother Henry, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation advances the science of chemistry, chemical engineering and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances throughout the world. 

###

About Wayne State University

Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu.